Iraq is making progress in negotiations with ExxonMobil and the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) for a multi-billion-dollar deal that is key to expanding the country’s oil production and export capacity. Talks over the so-called Southern Iraq Integrated Project (SIIP) have been ongoing since at least 2015 – and some aspects of the project for nearly a decade – but for the first time, officials on both sides are expressing optimism that the major parameters […]